The Vows We Make
by mirai3k
Summary: [because there are vows that lovers make and vows that others make] The last few days before the SuouFujioka wedding are made of sheer and utter chaos. Hikaru isn't helping. Kyouya is trying. And friendship has never been a more powerful word.
1. Preparations

_**A/N**: Holy hell…what's wrong with me? This is the sixth fic I've written this month! (I usually get to about like two in a year…) So yes. This is actually going to be a multiparter, albeit a short one (maybe 3, 4, or 5 chapters?). It kinda just hit me and so far is going rather well in my head (let's hope it doesn't die out on me). The level of lightness and pairings are subject to change as well :evil laugh:_

_Disclaimer: Ouran is not mine._

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_And when they say that what's in store for you will come to you, they might actually be telling you the truth._

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_**Preparations**_

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Suou Tamaki will quite possibly not live through a better week.

Never in his life had he imagined, especially in a span of _two_ days, being named the Suou heir by his late grandmother in her will and finally, finally, _finally, _winning the heart of that blasted commoner girl, as everyone said.

The former, he could easily have lived without. The latter however…well, let's just say that he doesn't want to consider the alternatives because life doesn't throw this much fortune at one everyday and really and who is _he_ to complain?

The wedding is planned to take place in three days. So technically, there is today, tomorrow, and then one more day in which the twins can still flirt with Haruhi and laugh at her fiancé because at one point, it occurred to them that the word _husband_ was just so, so much more intimidating.

On her end of things, Haruhi is being dragged around by Ranka-san and Renge for last minute idiocies, and the two don't realize how they're wearing the girl out from the month's shopping of dresses, jewellery, and inspections of the best hair and make-up salons in town. It's all out of Tamaki's pocket even though as a practicing lawyer, she can easily afford it all herself. Still, she's trying her best to choose items that are modestly priced because even if her fiancé is bleeding money, the commoner blood is still flowing thick through her veins. Tamaki and her father both insist she leave that mentality behind her but it's easier said than done.

Also, unsurprisingly enough, Tamaki and the father of his bride-to-be have finally come to put aside their differences, even if there weren't very many of them to begin with. As a result, the pressures on Haruhi have doubled in severity though at least they are familiar pressures and she's not entirely _torn_ between them either.

On his end, the ex-Host Club boys are either creating or destroying chaos in all its shapes and forms. As expected, Honey is ecstatic because the prospect of much cake is involved and he has decided to take over the dessert-catering arena as his own personal responsibility. The twins are full of boundless energy and being more of an annoying hindrance than help whereas Mori is probably the only one quietly complying with Kyouya's orders for perfection in every aspect of this wedding.

Yes, Kyouya is being doggedly anal, and about _every_ little detail as well. Lately, he has been the usual perfectionist and then some but it's understandable because after all, this _is_ his best friend's wedding and _no _mistakes are allowed. If he feels obliged to go beyond his role as Best man into ultimate-wedding-planner, no one has the right to complain, and that is how they comfort themselves when they see him skipping meals and losing sleep over the mess.

Tamaki has told him on more than one occasion to take it easy because even his own father is shirking off his responsibilities and _that_ hasn't caused the world to end.

Usually, Kyouya politely tells him to go and help out Honey-sempai pick the cakes or tie the twins to a chair so they can stop interfering or something of the sort, and let him do what he needs to do in peace, please and thank you.

"You don't _need_ to do anything," has been Tamaki's serious response to the last time Kyouya used the aforementioned line.

And Kyouya would glance up at the blond, adjust his glasses, and go back to the paperwork with a mildly irritated sigh. And Tamaki would leave him be, let him fulfill whatever duty he feels he owes to Tamaki, or perhaps to himself because although Tamaki knows how to _really_ bug Kyouya, he also knows when to not.

Kyouya looks up briefly when the boy has turned to leave, getting a glimpse of the back of Tamaki's head. He shakes his head lightly and returns to the list of things that still need to be done. Despite what they think, he's doing this rather contentedly, or as contentedly as the circumstances allow him to.

In many ways, this is what they've all somehow hoped to look forward to, for many years, and for Tamaki's sake at least because God knows that boy—now technically a man but still not showing signs of it—has deserved more happiness than the amount allotted to him in all his life before. And even if not for Tamaki, over the course of their Host Club years with Haruhi and even after, they have all come to see her as a sister of sorts and would probably not readily give her up to anyone who was not their ridiculous Suou Tamaki.

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	2. Charades

_**A/N**: Yeah it's only been AGES. LOL the awkward bit (and the excuse) is that some bits of this fic actually inspired me to write an original one which may someday go up on my fictionpress account and have a VERY different storyline (honest! You'll see if you ever read it) but I was working on THAT for a while and what motivated me to update again was the fact that a lot of old fics I was following that hadn't been updated for ages are finally coming back again. And I thought, hey, I haven't given up on them so maybe you guys won't give up on me. :sigh: anyway, I still adore this fandom with my heart and soul, and thank you to everyone who read the first chap and reviewed! Sorry if there's a bit of a style-change as it HAS been a while but blah, here we go!_

_Disclaimer: Ouran is not mine._

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"_Yesterday is dead and over."_

_--Switchfoot_

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_**Charades**_

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And nothing is as easy now as it once would have been.

The hardest part to believe is that the King is no longer smiling all the time though he has all the reason in the world to. Tamaki is actually—finally—feeling the burden of unspeakable stress though he's still doing quite a job of smiling and laughing through it all.

Another point of interest is that the Shadow King is finally growing weary of his role in the charade.

Honey and Mori notice that it takes a lot less to make Kyouya snap as of late. The twins are also quick to realize. Haruhi is even quicker. Tamaki is oblivious. As always, really.

Nothing is done about this because it is evident that Kyouya has been sleeping less and less, being his ridiculously busy self, and they all know how he gets when he runs on low levels of sleep so they let it slide and think nothing of it.

Again, he's there, and then somewhere else, running about all day getting the church, the reception hall, the gardens, the photographers all pre-arranged and Hikaru is with him more than half the time, continuing his bickering because he thinks that Haruhi would prefer something different in every given circumstance.

"You do not know commoner taste, so don't even try," is Kyouya's recited reply.

_You do not know Haruhi, _is what the feistier twin wants to say—and does so with his glares—every single time, only that they both know that it is a false accusation.

Oddly enough, however, there _are_ points in time where Hikaru is actually right when he points out the simpler things over the more flamboyant but there are also points in time where Kyouya has to vouch for Tamaki's interests just because.

Hikaru usually grumbles, defeated, either to be comforted by Kaoru or brood alone somewhere. The latter happening rather frequently as of late but Kyouya can usually care less.

At times, he busies himself with the thoughts of why Haruhi and Tamaki would make _the_ best couple, why they complete each other and why he truly is very happy for his best friend and the then-bland-now-beautiful commoner girl they had adopted like a pet, like a child, like a sister.

It is a little awkward to now think of her as having been Tamaki's 'daughter' once, not only because the blond will be marrying her in a matter of days, but more so because if he thinks about the ridiculous charade long and hard, he finds that she will technically be replacing _Kyouya_ as _Mom _someday.

At this, he wants to laugh, very, _very_ hard but instead he manages a slight smirk at the turns of life. It is still by far so much easier to see her as a sister, he decides.

_And didn't big brothers always want the best for their sisters? _

So yes, he convinces himself that Tamaki is a competent man with oh-so-many-flaws but Kyouya will let that pass and approve of Tamaki as someone he would allow Haruhi to marry.

_It's about damn time anyway._

And of course, another part of his mind is screaming other things entirely…

But those thoughts are shortly interrupted by Hikaru's yelling and Kaoru's softer voice trying to calm him. Kyouya knows what is happening, what is bound to happen some time anyway.

_Unconscious affections must surface at some point, must be sorted out and contended with._

Somehow, they had been kept underwater for _this_ long, coming closer to the surface…dangerously close now. _Inevitably…_

_Surprising how Hikaru has managed for even this long. _Truthfully though, Kyouya isn't all that surprised.

Sometimes, he does want to sympathize, he wants to do _something_, despite it being far from any of his business. Always, he decided he cannot and will not interfere—unless it comes to breaking point where breaking point will likely be the wedding. Kaoru can handle his brother.

Kaoru will have to.

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	3. For You

_**A/N**__: Wow. It's almost been an year, guys. I'm so sorry. But see, I didn't forget about this fic, and it will get completed, I swear. This is a short chapter. Next one is longer. Thanks for bearing with me and for following this! Please review _

_Disclaimer: Ouran is not mine._

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_Like a father to impress  
Like a mother's mourning dress  
If we ever make a mess  
I'll do anything for you_

_--Sufjan Stevens_

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_**For You**_

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Tamaki has tried to imply in more ways that one that his friendship with any of the ex-host-club-boys, especially Kyouya, will not change no matter how old they get, how many times he gets married—to Haruhi, because there has _never_ been anyone else—or well, _ever_. He cannot say this aloud of course. Or maybe things have not reached the point where he has felt the need to.

Of course things will change, Kyouya thinks, and Tamaki is still far too naïve to if he cannot understand that. With marriage and adulthood comes a new life, doesn't Tamaki know? Or maybe all Tamaki understands is the fact that change is pending but not how imminent it truly is.

Still, along with change will come loss in certain respects and status quo in others.

Kyouya has been thinking of the loss a lot more as of late.

The old Tamaki is changing and Kyouya feels it first. The fair, smooth forehead is already showing shadows of where lines will appear and the blond hair does not have the same sparkle as it did when the boy was a teenager. Of course, this is inevitable. The King will finally have to face more than the unwavering love of his admirers. Now there is an empire at stake and not every man in his court will bend at his will. Not like Kyouya had done.

Why he is thinking of all of this in conjunction with Tamaki's wedding, he does not quite know.

_Perhaps I have spoiled you._

If it were up to Kyouya, he would spoil him forever, even as he would roll his eyes in the process because one day, he knows, this golden ball of sunshine will grow jaded, under board meetings and business suits and clients to impress and his forefathers' shadows. And that will be the day that Kyouya's own world will shatter.

Among the things he will miss the most, thinks Kyouya, is Tamaki's love for anything remotely beautiful—a highly indiscriminate feeling as the boy—_no, man, man, man!_—had found anything and _every_thing beautiful.

That day is still far away. It is weak consolation but it is _something_ as he watches the boy—_man!—_with a slight smile as said 'man' bounces with glee at Ranka-san's flower arrangements.


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